By Breitbart. Nine tourists were left stranded in a remote region of Mongolia after an unidentified local couple died from the bubonic plague.

The ethnically Kazakh couple died on May 1 after ingesting raw marmot kidney — traditionally believed to have health benefits, according to Ulaanbaatar’s World Health Organization spokesperson Ariuntuya Ochirpurev. . .

Unfortunately, marmots are known carriers of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that culled Europe as the “Black Death” in the middle ages. Once contracted by humans, it is extremely contagious and can be spread by coughing.

After their deaths, a six-day quarantine locked down the area, preventing nine tourists from Germany, Russia, and Switzerland from leaving. They, as well as 24-year-old American Peace Corps volunteer Sebastian Pique, were invited to the governor’s office on Friday to have the situation explained.

“After the quarantine [was announced], not many people — even locals — were in the streets for fear of catching the disease,” Pique said. Fortunately, as no other cases have been reported, the quarantine is expected to lift on Monday. (Read more from “Couple Dies of Bubonic Plague After Eating Raw Marmot” HERE)

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Mongolian Couple Die of Bubonic Plague After Eating Marmot

By The Guardian. Each year in Mongolia at least one person dies of the plague, mostly due to consuming such meat, according to the US National Center for Zoonotic Disease.

The Black Death wiped out millions of people in the Middle Ages but cases are now very rare. Its most common form is bubonic, which is spread by fleas and causes swelling of the lymph node. The more virulent form is pneumonic plague, which can be transmitted between humans through coughing. (Read more from “Mongolian Couple Die of Bubonic Plague After Eating Marmot” HERE)